About 200 people attended the Chukkers for Children fundraising event on the polo fields at King Family Vineyards on Sunday, June 8. “Chukkers for Children was a true celebration of the power of community and compassion,” said T.J. Zepp, senior manager, marketing and communications at Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia. “Thanks to our generous host, King Family Vineyards, as well as our sponsors, guests, and volunteers, we’re making wishes come true for children with critical illnesses in Albemarle County and across Virginia.” Amanda Barber, assistant general manager of King Family Vineyards, added, “We were honored and thrilled to host Chukkers for Children in partnership with Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia. Supporting such a meaningful cause in our community is deeply important to us, and we were so thrilled to have such an unforgettable day of polo while bringing hope and joy to children and families across Virginia.” For this event, Make a Wish was awarded a Champions of the Community sponsorship grant from the CavFutures Foundation. They have an ongoing partnership in conjunction with UVA Athletics that involves wish children and their families. UVA is one of the foundation’s biggest sources of referrals.
Chukkers for Children was attended by several of the children and their families that had received or were waiting for their wishes to come true. The Gazette was able to talk to some of the families who had been recipients of Make a Wish grants. The first was Lonz Sanders of Charlottesville, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2020 at age 17. A subsequent stroke left him with the use of only one hand and partial eyesight. He has a love of food and wished to travel to Lyon, France (the food capital of the world) and eat in a Michelin-Star restaurant, but that hope was dashed with Covid. Lonz also loved computer gaming, which was difficult with the use of one hand and partial eyesight. An alternate wish was granted by providing funds allowing him to build a gaming computer with a freeze-frame function allowing him to catch up with the gaming action and compete. Since Lonz was unable to go to France, Make a Wish worked with the local fine food restaurant Fleurie to prepare a Lyon-style gourmet food experience for him and his family, he said.
“Make a Wish was great,” Lonz said. As for the meal, he added, “That was the most I have eaten in one meal since being diagnosed with cancer.”
Make a Wish board member and UVA pediatric hematologist Trey Lee noted, “Our volunteers go to the recipient’s house to understand what the wish is and work on really taking the experience to the next level.” Lonz has recovered enough that he was able to travel to France with his family last year.
The next wish recipient we met was Noah Piper, now eight years old, who was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2019. “A diagnosis like this really turns your family upside down,” his mom Valeria said. “You go from normal to chemotherapy five days a week and then dealing with surgery. It puts an enormous stress on the family.”
Before he got sick, Noah was taking Art in the Park classes with Lolita Bland, who also happened to be a volunteer with MAW. “Noah was a kid who liked dressing up as Spiderman and climbing things.” When MAW got involved, they arranged for a climbing wall with a treehouse to be constructed in the Pipers’ backyard. Another example of how Make a Wish goes “to the next level,” was in the lead-up to showing Noah the climbing wall. An actor dressed up as Spiderman came to the house riding on the hood of a car. “I met Spiderman,” Noah said. “He came to my house!” His mom added, “There was so much love put into the process. MAW helped Noah be a kid again.”…